novelraw Chapter 160 -160-Racing Against Time to Destroy the Royal City
Chapter 160 -160-Racing Against Time to Destroy the Royal City
The quantity of loot from this round might not have been high, but in terms of quality, it completely eclipsed every previous haul Daniel had ever obtained.
The Aerial Realm alone was already absurdly heaven-defying, not to mention that incomplete version of an invincibility skill.
Daniel had also not forgotten the [Conqueror’s Emblem] he had obtained earlier.
That emblem could ignore all of his personal limits and forcibly raise his damage output to 100 million.
Right now, he was relying on that thing to hold everything together.
But he had a vague feeling that the missions ahead would be far more dangerous.
After all, in the Low-Grade battlefield, even Transcendent Legendary-grade beings seemed to be everywhere. In the Mid-Grade battlefield, perhaps even those at the Transcendent Peak could only serve as cannon fodder.
He would not be the least bit surprised if a whole group of ruthless Supreme-grade monsters descended.
He did not know much about Supreme-grade powerhouses.
Which only made it all the more necessary to arm himself as thoroughly as possible.
Without a second thought, he began upgrading the Conqueror’s Emblem.
[Ding! You are consuming SSS-rank skill books to raise the level of Conqueror’s Emblem. Please confirm.]
"Confirm!"
[Ding! You have consumed an SSS-rank skill book. Conqueror’s Emblem has advanced to Lv.2!]
[Ding! You have consumed an SSS-rank skill book. Conqueror’s Emblem has advanced to Lv.3!]
Then he stopped.
The upgrade mechanism of the Conqueror’s Emblem was viciously demanding.
Every three levels was a major threshold. Once that threshold was crossed, the number of SSS-rank skill books required would multiply explosively.
He glanced at the condition for the next upgrade:
500 SSS-rank skill books!
He opened the Emblem’s status panel.
[Conqueror’s Emblem (Supreme-grade)]
Level: 3
Trait: Growth-type
Effect: After equipping it, all personal limitations are ignored, and all damage dealt reaches 300 million (current upper limit).
Final output is affected by the target’s strength.
Upgrade Requirement: SSS-rank skill books (0/500)
Daniel let out a long breath.
With the upgraded Conqueror’s Emblem, he no longer had any obvious weakness for the time being.
...
At the opposite pole of Heavenscar...
A towering mountain pierced straight into the clouds, as though it were holding apart the curtain between heaven and earth.
And at the mountain’s highest point lay the legendary summit of Heavenscar—
Cloudcrest Peak.
It was said that only the strongest prodigies in the multiverse were qualified to climb it.
Yet over the course of a thousand years, not a single powerhouse had truly managed to stand upon its peak.
At this very moment, two figures were struggling their way up the mountain.
Judging from their progress, they were still only halfway up.
The one in front was a young man, while the figure one step behind him was Harris, the current number one on the Fortune Points leaderboard and the prodigy of the Starlight Folk, the greatest race in the Endless Star River.
Both of them were breathing heavily.
The youth was slightly better off. He was merely drenched in sweat, as though an entire mountain were pressing down on his shoulders.
But Harris had to stop and catch his breath every few steps, looking as though he was already nearing his limit.
As if by unspoken agreement, neither of them disturbed the other. Their gazes remained locked firmly on the summit.
Only by reaching that place could one truly be acknowledged as the strongest prodigy of this era.
But right then—
[Heavenscar Announcement: The human race’s "Faustus" has repelled the Empyrean Faction’s assault!]
The instant the announcement rang out, both Harris and the young man froze.
The Empyrean Faction had lost?
From ancient times until now, the Empyrean Faction had never once been defeated.
Every round of Heavenscar had always ended in the Empyrean Faction’s victory.
And yet now, the announcement said the Empyrean Faction had been defeated!
Harris’s expression darkened.
"Faustus... who exactly is this bastard?!"
"He was the one who bathed the Holy Palace in blood, and now he’s also the one who stopped the Empyrean Faction’s advance. He certainly knows how to stir up trouble."
But the youth burst out laughing.
He turned back to look at Harris.
"Harris, the price of your arrogance is not small... your Empyrean Faction has suffered a crushing loss!"
The youth shook his head.
If Harris had not rushed off to climb Cloudcrest Peak, and had instead stayed behind to oversee things personally, that Faustus might not have succeeded so easily.
It was precisely because Harris had assumed victory was certain and gone up the mountain alone that he had handed away the chance of winning for free.
"Hmph!"
Harris snorted coldly, chin held high.
"The Starlight Folk possess boundless Fortune Points. What does a minor loss like this amount to?"
He paused, his gaze burning as it locked onto the summit.
"To stand atop Cloudcrest Peak—that alone is what I seek."
"In the Endless Star River, I have crushed every enemy of my generation. Only this final proof is missing."
Reaching the summit of Cloudcrest Peak would be the greatest proof of all.
After saying that, he turned and sneered at the youth.
"And you? Aren’t you, a Supreme-grade Peak expert, also here because you want to make up for the regrets of last time? You’ve climbed this mountain who knows how many times already."
The youth flushed red.
"What would you understand!"
"Back then, in Heavenscar, I simply didn’t participate. If I had gone, I’d have been standing on that summit long ago!"
"Heh."
Harris laughed in disdain and lowered his head to continue climbing.
The youth, having gained nothing from the exchange, did not take it too much to heart. His eyes remained fixed with unwavering determination on the peak disappearing into the clouds.
"Cloudcrest Peak... I, Jonas, will set foot on it no matter what!"
Neither said another word. They simply continued climbing.
...
[Ding! The pursuers will descend in five minutes! Please prepare yourself!]
Daniel’s eyes sharpened.
Five minutes left!
Those pursuers were the very source of this explosive spike in mission difficulty.
He immediately set off and flew straight toward the Empyrean Royal City.
Above the Empyrean Royal City—
Daniel appeared.
He did not dare waste even a second. If he failed to wipe out the Royal City within those five minutes, then once the pursuers arrived, the mission would become much harder to handle.
He summoned ninety-nine clones, raised Stellar Wrath, and began unleashing skills at the Royal City in a mad torrent.
"Skyfall Strike!"
"Permafrost Prison!"
"Thunder Abyss!"
-300,000,000!
-300,000,000!
-300,000,000!
...
A sea of forbidden spells exploded across the sky in an instant.
Flames, frost, and thunder engulfed heaven and earth in the blink of an eye.
Bzzzz—!
A protective barrier suddenly unfolded above the Royal City.
Countless forbidden spells were blocked outside it, unable to damage the city in the slightest.
A barrier?
So the difficulty really had increased.
Daniel’s face sank.
There was no time left. He had to end this quickly.
He decisively poured Immortal Singularity into his attacks, amplifying them. With Immortal Singularity’s blessing, the damage instantly increased tenfold!
-3,000,000,000!
-3,000,000,000!
-3,000,000,000!
...
He bombarded the Royal City like a madman.
Under that terrifying stream of sustained damage, the barrier finally could no longer hold.
Crash!
It sounded like glass shattering.
To Daniel’s ears, that sound was simply beautiful.
"One more minute and I can destroy the Royal City and finish the mission!"
And right then—
[Ding! The pursuers have arrived in Low-Grade Heavenscar!]
The instant the system notification fell, several streaks of light flashed into Daniel’s field of vision.
The pursuers had arrived!
Unwilling to give up, he cast one glance at the Royal City, gritted his teeth, and injected even more Immortal Singularity.
-30,000,000,000!
-30,000,000,000!
Rumble—!
The entire Empyrean Royal City exploded with a deafening roar, and in the next moment it was reduced to flat ground.
A vast Royal City containing tens of millions of lives, along with countless powerful experts, was erased just like that—as though wiped away by the hand of a god.
[Ding! You have completed the missions "Destroy the Empyrean Kingdom" and "Maintain the Rule of the Holy Kingdom," and obtained 11,000,000 Fortune Points!]
[Ding! Heavenscar comprehensive evaluation complete. Reward granted to the human race’s "Faustus": Special Item "World Tree Seed"!]
Daniel had barely finished listening to the notifications when three terrifying auras that seemed to fill the heavens and the earth suddenly appeared.
They were the auras of Supreme-grade powerhouses.